Defensive 6

[barry]

Some people, including me, are bemoaning the loss of 3 players from our defense which has unsettled us and caused us to be sitting at the bottom half of the eight.

But really, since when has RWO considered LRT and Dempster key players? Dempster is a fringe player, and the calls for LRT to be replaced have been almost deafining over the years.

Yes we need Kennelly. Yes LRT will free up Richards. Yes Dempster will put some pressure on other players for a spot, but they arent going to change things radically.

FWIW, Our defense is running fine. Its our attrocious midfield thats the problem. We have key players like J Bolton, Goodes and Buchanon missing in action or just missing. Add in clowns like McVeigh and an underdone couch, and its one ugly mess in there.

[Industrial Fan]

BLT and dumpster are key players. I think we miss them both more than others would have you believe.

BLT was hard done by at the end of last year because he was injured...but before that had done some stellar jobs.

[Nico]

Sorry barry I cant agree. Kennelly, LRT, Dempster has been our HB line or have been in the back 6 in 2 finals campaigns. Dempster is hardly now a fringe player. He plays close and hard, backs up well and when he got injured he looked like he had added a bit of dash to his game that we had seen glimpses of.

There is a thing called structure and playing together as a back half team and is absolutely vital to be a top team. Watch us go when we get that structure back. Trouble is we have to win our share while they are out.

I agree on Richards being released. He doesn't seem the type to be one on one all game, but adds a dimension when can run free and is not shown respect.

[Jewels]

Our midfield looked soooo slow on Saturday night it was sad. Port will tear us up big time in two weeks if we don't come up with some answers quick smart!

[liz]

I don't think Dempster has shown enough yet to be considered indispensable, or even a secure best 22 player. But he is the most obvious current option to replace some of the drive that Kennelly provides in the context of a forced absence of Kennelly (I'm not suggesting he would replace him on merit).

So the loss of Dempster itself wasn't that critical. But his absence has probably compounded the problems caused by Kennelly's injury as the obvious stand-in ain't available.

Single injuries are rarely a problem for any club - or at least they shouldn't be. It is the compounding effect that causes real problems, especially when they're all in the same part of the ground (eg Melbourne's forward line, Saints' backline).

And LRT is most certainly a key part of the team. I struggle to understand how anyone who has watched him develop over the last 18 months and gradually take on more difficult opponents could fail to see that. Not to mention the impact his absence has on Craig Bolton, who has to take on those tougher opponents himself, thereby sacrificing some of his own rebounding game.

[NMWBloods]

I agree with Nico and Liz that it's not necessarily Dempster by himself, but his part in the structure of an effective half back line.

This is then compounded by a woeful midfield performance on Saturday.

One of the key aspects of the game was that the Kangaroos played very directly, and were getting the ball I50 as quick as possible. This led to the occasional situation of an unmarked goal square and frequent examples of one-on-one battles in their F50 and no extra Swans back to help out. This is tough for any defender and why they were able to get some good crumbing goals.

If we moved the ball in quickly like rather than mess about with it our forwards could have a field day.